CH 47

Cafe Closing Party

Thus, thanks to Beelzebub’s assistance, we finally had enough margin to run the cafe ‘Witch’s house’. We managed to finish just before closing time, at around seven in the evening.

The entire staff focused on the last customer leaving out the door.

“Thank you very much for coming today!”

And then, right after service hours ended, I clung to Beelzebub

“Thank you! We were saved by the skin of our teeth!’

“Ah, I know well of your gratitude towards me. As a token of appreciation, allow me to order something from the menu. I did originally come as a customer, after all.”

She was right indeed; I put a customer to work the entire time.

“Ah, of course, we can handle that much. We’ll keep your orders coming. Just don’t order the entire menu.”

“Let me see.. Then, all the ones on this page of the food menu..This, this, and this cake, and this, this, and this drink, and this one as well..”

“That’s some serious overeating..”

“I’m famished from all that work. Also, bring along two bottles of ‘Nutritional Liquor’ “

There was no such thing on the menu, but Harukara immediately headed off to fetch it anyway.

tI was a reaction towards a really scary OG. [1]

Leica and I prepared the food menu items. Meanwhile, Beelzebub was happily talking with my two daughters.

“Look, Farufa. It’s a book on differentials and integrals.” [2]

“Yay! Beelzebub-san, thank you!”

“For Sharusha, a book on the Demon Race’s History.”

“Thank you very much..”

Back in Japan, I have an aunt who spoils her nieces. And like her. she’s way too soft on Farufa and Sharusha; she’s spoiling them. No, on second thought, she did listen to my requests a fair amount, so she might be that way with just about anyone..

However, my two daughters weren’t used to working, so they were completely drained and fell asleep mid-conversation about the books. Since I didn’t want to wake them up whilst carrying them up to bed, I draped them in a towel blanket. [3]

Then, the dishes lined up in front of Beelzebub. And so too were our own dishes, ready to eat. There wasn’t enough spare time for a proper lunch.

“Good. Its taste is suitable for this establishment. It isn’t as polished as I’d like them to be, but there is no use in serving court cuisine in a cafe, so it should suffice.”

It looks like we received passing marks, for now.

“I originally came to this village for the festival, as it was nearby. Afterwards though, I heard of a cafe opening the day before it, so I decided to give it a chance.”

“I see. Sorry for occupying your day with work.”

“At the state that it was running, business would’ve collapsed, so I came at just the right time. The curious villagers in a festive mood came in droves.

“I guess that was the case. We had to service four times the expected number of people.”

A while ago, when Harukara calculated the sale count, it was estimated at four times the expected amount. She seemed to be happiest when instructed to handle the financial side of things, so I let her do it.

By the way, Beelzebub was quietly eating while holding the conversation. She’s one energetic demon.

“Incidentally, there were other reasons as to why I decided to come.”

As she said that, Beelzebub took out a piece of paper, with words written in Demonic Language.

“I.. can’t read Demonic Language at all… And the characters are too closely packed to make any of it out..”

“It goes a little something like this: The Plateau Witch, Azusa, has been dedicated the Demon Medal of Honor. If the enclosed schedule coincides with the recipient’s , please attend without fail.”

“Ah, the Demon Medal of Honor――wait, what even is this!?

This is the first time I heard of the term.

“In the first place, I’m not even a demon! I may be an immortal who has lived for 300 years, but I’m still a human!””

“Ah, the Demon Medal of Honor is not ‘a medal of honor given to a demon’, but ‘a medal of honor given by demons’. The race of the recipient isn’t taken into account.”

I see. Even in Japan, there are awards and the like given to foreigners who are held in high esteem.

“This award is from the peacekeeping category. Remember, you resolved the dragon’s dispute. Not only did you defeat the enemy, but you also managed to cement lasting peace due to the agreement; that was also taken into evaluation. Well, I was the one who recommended all this in the first place.”

This person, she was doing something behind my back!

However, something like demons lauding these kinds of feats are a far cry from the image I had of them in mind.

“Then, I’ll go. I still owe a few favors.”

“Good. Excellent.”

However, Leica was a careful person, so it seems like she found a few points about this to worry about.

“Um, going to the Demon State, it is safe for us? It would be good if everyone there was as friendly as Beelzebub.”

“The guys who want to wage war against humanity hardly exist, so it is safe.”

From what Beelzebub said, there’s no need to worry. It’ll probably just be a change of pace if anything.

“I understand…… However, Azusa-sama has a certain proneness of getting dragged into things, so I’m still a little worried, but……”.

“Ehh!? Why is Leica judging me so negatively?! ”

Leica is in her rebellious age!

“I am not judging you. I, of course, have faith in Azusa-sama. However, it is a fact that these things tend to happen to you… And a fact is a fact.”

When you word it like that, it’s impossible to refute..

“Additionally, there’s a certain person in our group with a predisposition for being weak.”

Leica briefly sent a cold gaze at Harukara.

“Eeh! Sparks are starting to fly!”

“Harukara-san, don’t do anything that might offend the demons. You are not Azusa-sama; you have no means of protecting your own body, so please watch your step.”

Leica is like her guardian in a way

“It’s alright,I say. I’m a seasoned traveller~. Although all my travelling expenses were stolen on my way to a different province, I managed to scrape together enough funds from working part-time~.”

“You were robbed?!”

Without thinking, I retorted.

“No, no, robbed is too strong a word. I only had some pocket change stolen. The other time I left for a long trip, the only thing of note was me getting surrounded by a group of somewhat scary men, but I got saved by the local soldiers, so it didn’t really lead to anything~.”

Leica looked in my direction and said, “See, you should worry about it.”

“Alright…… I will be careful then…… Mainly of Harukara……”

There are some people who develop the logic of ‘since I’m safe this time, I’ll be safe next time’, and Harukara was clearly one of them

Footnotes:

1. OG = Old Girl/Office Girl You figure out which one was used in this context

2. Calculus stuff.

3. A towel blanket is basically a blanket (that resembles a beach towel) that is used in hot weather.